Crimson-collared Tanager

How to find it

Scan the middle to upper levels of forest edges and second growth, and watch for movement first. Early morning (dawn to 8 AM) and mid to late afternoon (2 to 5 PM) are the best viewing times given. Fruit feeders on the Caribbean slope are another place to look. Check mixed flocks of tanagers and saltators, since it sometimes travels with them. In foothill rainforest at about 500 to 1,000 m, birders often meet mixed flocks holding about a dozen tanager species. Around Turrialba, one birder found it not rare but not very common either, and says visitors there have a very good chance of seeing it.

How to recognise it

Adults are black with a red collar that covers the nape, neck and breast.

The rump and tail coverts are red too. The bill is a striking pale blue and the legs are blue-gray. The bird is about 19 to 20 cm long.

Females are slightly duller than males, but sometimes look the same. A Turrialba birder describes the sexes as identical.

Young birds have a dull red hood, brown-tinged black areas and a red and black mottled breast. Their bill is duller than an adult's.

Behaviour and diet

This tanager forages quietly, usually in pairs, and pairs stay together all year. It sometimes travels with mixed flocks of other tanagers and saltators. After breeding it moves in small groups for a short time.

In Costa Rica the males are much more territorial than the sargento tanagers, Passerini's and Cherrie's.

The nest is a cup of moss, rootlets and strips of banana or Heliconia leaves, set in a tree at a forest edge. The female usually lays two pale blue eggs with dark spots. A Costa Rican account gives breeding from April to June, with nests 2 to 6 m up.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it uses forest edges with scrub, tall partly cleared second growth and hedgerows. It usually stays a little higher than the sargento tanagers.

On the Caribbean slope it uses lowland and foothill humid forest edge, second growth and gardens. Foothill rainforest at roughly 500 to 1,000 m is rich in tanagers, and this species is named among them.

The National Museum of Costa Rica also lists it among species with Caribbean and humid Pacific influence in the Greater Metropolitan Area, which covers about 500 to 1800 m.

When to see it

It is a year-round resident, so it can be seen in any month. The dry season (December to April) is noted as easier for Caribbean-slope travel.

Similar birds

The Costa Rican sargento tanagers, Passerini's (Ramphocelus passerinii) and Cherrie's (Ramphocelus costaricensis), are related black and red tanagers. They sit lower than this species and are less territorial. Passerini's is much more sociable and common in plantations and thickets, and both can turn up at the same garden feeders. The red collar also resembles that of the male Crimson-collared Grosbeak, but the tanager is slimmer and sleeker, with a thick pale blue bill.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it Tangara Capuchirroja. Other names in the country include Rey de Sargento (king of the sargentos) and Sangre de Toro (bull's blood). A lodge guide also lists it as Sargento, as it does the Scarlet-rumped Tanager, because of the red and black plumage.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list codes it as a resident (R), and the IUCN rates it Least Concern with a stable population trend.

Photography tips

It is most active in early morning and late afternoon, but it visits feeders through the day. Feeders are a good way to get a clear view.